While the two of us sometimes agree to disagree on political issues, we always agree that our community should take every reasonable opportunity to boost our economy and create jobs during these tough economic times.

A private-public partnership to deliver the proposed convention center hotel on Hutchinson Island should achieve those goals now and for years to come.

Under the leadership of current Chairman Mark Smith and past Chairman Pat Shay, the Georgia International Maritime and Trade Center Authority (GIMTCA) has actively planned for such a hotel since as early as 2006 — studying its feasibility and what impact it would have on our local economy.

After reviewing several competitive proposals from development/design-build teams and major convention hotel operating companies, GIMTCA selected an experienced developer/design-builder and a major hotel operator and has executed a memorandum of understanding with each. We commend Mark, Pat and GIMTCA for their vision and hard work to get us to this point.

For each of us, there are three main questions to answer: (1) Does Savannah need a new convention center hotel? (2) Is it possible to finance such a hotel without public support? (3) If public support is needed, what form should it take?

Does Savannah need a new convention center hotel? The answer is yes.

As vibrant and resilient as our tourism market has been, even during the recession, we are leaving major convention business on the table.

Our city is lucky because the vast majority of our visitors come here for leisure. Five independent studies (one commissioned by VisitSavannah, one by GIMTCA, and three by major international hotel operators) agree that a new convention center hotel would significantly increase our number of convention visitors. As great as our downtown hotels are, we do not have the type of hotel needed to attract more major convention business.

The studies indicate that the new hotel would have the following effects:

• Double Savannah’s convention business.

• Induce 83,000 new room nights in area hotels.

• Create 1,170 new permanent jobs.

• Add $83 million in local spending per year.

• Bring $29 million in earnings to the local economy.

• Generate over 900 local construction/supply jobs over the next 2 years.

The chosen development team has an excellent track record of local involvement in other communities and is committed to meet or exceed 60% local participation from small local subcontractors, suppliers and workers.

Is it possible to finance such a hotel without support of some kind from the public sector? The answer is no. Of the 20-plus convention/conference headquarters hotel projects that have been built in the U.S. over the past 10 years, exactly zero were completed without the local government stepping in to provide some kind of major support.

This is no different than public support to lure new manufacturers or other job-creating industry to our county. No matter the financing structure, communities from Omaha to Denver to Austin to Macon have found that convention hotels, with their added public space and agreements to block out up to 80 percent of their rooms at discounted rates years in advance to secure major meetings, provide a great return to local communities.

Because the local government looks not only at the number of rooms sold, but also to the additional room and sales tax revenue, job creation, sales tax from visitors and revenues to other local hotels and businesses, it is clearly reasonable for local governments to support these kinds of projects, or they will not happen.

The Trade Center itself, which was developed through public participation, has created jobs, attracted business and provided a return on investment to the public.

If public support is needed, what form should it take? The answer is a private-public partnership.

Led by the GIMTCA board of directors, GIMTCA’s consultants and the Chatham County staff have been crafting private-public partnership that: (a) maximizes private investment, (b) minimizes taxpayers’ exposure to risk, (c) eliminates any cash outlay from taxpayers, (d) delivers the most efficient financing possible, and (e) provides a reasonable return on investment for private and public sector investors.

The GIMTCA board has done a great job of asking tough questions and pushing to make sure that the public is protected. The Chatham County Commission and staff have the same goal. We support GIMTCA and Chatham County’s effort to harness the energy of the private sector in a private-public partnership that will pay economic dividends to our community for years to come.

As long as the financing plans are prudent, efficient and protect the public, we should support the final decision of GIMTCA and the County about the structure of the financing, and follow through on GIMTCA’s years of hard work before we find ourselves at a major competitive disadvantage.

Just down the road on Jekyll Island, the state is providing major financial support in the form of infrastructure, cheap lease terms and other incentives to develop a convention center and hotel that will compete with Chatham County’s facility. Let’s support the Hutchinson Island hotel project and keep our community in the lead.

Eric Johnson is the former President Pro Tempore of the Georgia State Senate and currently is President of HGBD International, a member of the project’s design team. Bob James is the President of Carver State Bank and Chairman of Step Up Savannah, the community’s poverty reduction initiative. Both serve on the Board of Directors of the Savannah Economic Development Authority.

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Building another hotel in the middle of the Savannah River...which is exactly what Hutchinson Island is... and in view of the fact that the Westin continues to struggle with its occupancy, is one of the dumbest things we've heard lately. Get your head examined.

The primary purpose of the new trade center hotel is exactly that -- to serve the trade center. It can only help neighboring hotels by bringing in more events and tourism dollars. The TC will continue to lose event business when there is no place to stay with immediate access to it, which appears time and again in lost business reports. The Westin does not offer a room block to meeting planners and their rates are too high ($200/night) for many conventioneers' budgets, especially those on government per diem. With this ADR, the hotel really is not "struggling" as it can still meet revenue goals at a lower occupancy ... and maintain its classification as a "luxury" resort. If their business model was volume-based, they would risk losing their flag. Take advantage of lower construction costs and get this thing done.

The first thing anyone needs to realize is if this was such a good and profitable idea, a private business would be jumping for the opportunity to build it. It doesn't seem any private businesses are so what does that tell us?

The County owns a race track, golf course and the Aquatic Center that fail to generate any meaningful revenue, yet especially with the golf course and Aquatic Center, revenue is spent to maintain them.

In today's declining state of revenue, the County just needs to say NO.

To the poster Y, when considering a block room rate for conferences in hotels that offer those rates, many times the government rate is lower than the conference rate. I disagree with you on your position of government per diems. It's broken down by conference registration fee, travel expenses, hotel costs, and daily food allowance. If a government or anyone else is sending someone to a conference at the Trade Center and they object to the room rate at the Westin, they can always pay for them to stay at a lower priced hotel or motel and then pay for the travel expense to get them to the Trade Center. It would probably be at the cost of the room at the Westin or very close when all that is considered. Bottom line, I'm not buying what you are selling.

In response to Whirl_Pool, my point was to address the lack of affordable and accessible hotels within walking distance to the Trade Center. In the hotel industry, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to branded properties. Each property is designed with a building program that fits within a certain brand standard, as required by the operator, which is positioned for a specific target market and classified as "economy", "airport", "conference", "resort", etc. The Westin is classified as a luxury golf resort, not a convention hotel, and it was not positioned, designed or programmed to serve the Trade Center (another reason why they do not offer a room block to them). For example, as you approach the TC at the main entrance/drop-off, you are looking at the back of the hotel and its loading dock, unfortunately -- There is no formal entry to welcome visitors or easy access to the TC. However, the proposed hotel will be programmed functionally and physically to serve the Center and facilitate convention business (I have read that Hilton is the preferred operator, not Starwood). The Trade Center Authority issued the RFP for hotel development based upon civic planning recommendations and several market studies undertaken to assist them in increasing event bookings.